Untitled - Town of Windham

POLICE DEPARTMENTIt is my pleasure to provide you with the 2012 Annual Report for the Windham Police Department. Aswith the past few years, we continue to be challenged by the current economic and social climate, whichin the law enforcement community includes the impact such circumstances have on society in generaland, therefore, our community. Regardless of these challenges, we remain focused and committed toMaking a Difference each and every day.PERSONNEL/ORGANIZATION: The year saw three (3) employees leave employment with the town.Captain Carl Wagner retired after 24 years of service; Sergeant Glenn Record retired after 26 years ofservice; Part-time Records Clerk Norma Ryan left for a full-time position with another department after 9years of service to the town.After 3½-years of multiple surgeries and extensive physical therapy, Officer Jason Dzierlatka returned tofull-duty in March. Officer Dzierlatka was seriously injured in 2008 when he was struck by car occupiedby two individuals who had robbed the Bank of New England on Range Road. Both suspects weresubsequently apprehended and are serving extensive prison time for their crimes.In August, the department hired two (2) new patrol officers to fill the vacancies created by the previouslymentioned retirements. Officer Dan Dawe was already a department member, having served as aDispatcher since 2011. As stated in last year’s report, Dan is a former Staff Sergeant with the UnitedStates Marine Corps having served in both Iraq and Afghanistan where he was the recipient of variousawards and medals. Our second hire is Officer George Yameen who comes to us after having served anumber of years in the public utilities sector. George brings with him extensive public and customerservice experience, as well as public utilities safety information for emergency responders. Both officerspassed extensive background investigations and are a welcomed addition to the department.With one existing vacancy in Dispatch and the hiring of Officer Dawe, the department hired two (2) newdispatchers during the year. Dispatcher Jesse Ghorashi was hired in June and comes to the departmentfrom the private sector where she worked in retail and customer service. The second dispatcher, PattyMcGuire, was hired in November and brings with her previous public safety dispatch experience inNorth Carolina. As with the aforementioned officers, both dispatchers passed extensive backgroundinvestigations and are welcomed additions.In June, Officer Bryan Smith was promoted to the rank of Sergeant after finishing first in a competitivetesting process; taking over the position vacated by Sergeant Record.In March, Officer Brian Landry was injured in a motor vehicle crash when he was responding to anemergency call and was struck by another vehicle while en route. Officer Landry received non-lifethreatening injuries and remains out of work. In addition, Sergeant Wendy Foley remained out of workfor the year as she continued to recover from an on-duty injury that required two surgeries.During the course of the year, the department experienced an exceptionally high volume of overtime usedue to employee absences. At one time the department was down a total of 7 officers – nearly one-thirdof the department’s total complement of nineteen. Therefore, during most of the year we were running atminimum staffing levels, which in turn had an impact on the overall volume of calls for service.However, I am very pleased to report that through the use of vacant salary funds along with ongoingfiscal management we were able to remain within our bottom line budget by year’s end.2012 ANNUAL REPORTS 76 TOWN OF WINDHAM, NH